On the sidewalk outside, a second shooting victim lay dying, shot in the neck. He was two blocks from his home in the 1000 block of State Street.

Police later identified him as Carlos Cesar, 23, who was taken to St. Mary's Medical Center and later died.

After Salhot called West Palm Beach police, officers arrived at the Palm 1-Stop Grocery Store, 1909 Tamarind Ave., within five minutes, he said.

Blood was everywhere. Bullets had shattered the glass of a cooler and left half-dollar sized holes in the store's exterior.

Police did not release the second victim's name. He was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital and it appeared he would survive, said West Palm Beach police Lt. Chuck Reed, a police spokesman.

"After today, you never know what's going to happen," said Salhot, who has been working at the store for less than a month.

West Palm Beach police appeared to have few leads in the city's 21st homicide of 2005.

A small blue car pulled up to the run-down convenience store about 2:30 p.m., and at least one person opened fire with what police thought was an assault rifle, Reed said. It wasn't clear whether more than one gun was used, he said.

Officers tried to talk to possible witnesses but few would say what they saw, Reed said.

"I would suspect they know the victims and know more than they want to tell us," Reed said. "We hope they don't take this into their own hands."

For West Palm Beach's troubled Tamarind Avenue corridor, the violence erupted in November 2004 and claimed six lives that month. Police began a massive offensive against crime in the area.

Despite the crackdown, the killings continue.

Mike Saleh, 48, who works as the store's stocker but was not present during the shooting, said he thinks the attack was retaliation for a murder that took place a few weeks ago a short distance away.

Courtney Lewis, a city worker, was brazenly gunned down in Coleman Park on Dec. 13. The gunman walked past three city workers before shooting Lewis several times and running away.

Reed said it was too early to say whether the killings were related.

Two hours after Wednesday's shooting, Salhot stood inside the store next to a pile of glass and a blood-soaked mop.

He and co-worker Mohmmad Ismail, had just come to West Palm Beach from Miami, where they worked in another convenience store in a similarly violent neighborhood.

They are still searching for an apartment, he said, and are intent on staying despite the shooting.

"We aren't scared of nothing," Ismail said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Brian Arlotta at 561-822-1655 or Crime Stoppers at 800-458-8477.

Staff Writer Chrystian Tejedor and Staff Researcher William Lucey contributed to this report.

Stephen Deere can be reached at scdeere@sun-sentinel.com or 561-228-5506.